Southbridge Town Manager's OFC

Southbridge Town Manager's Office, a U.S. municipal government entity headquartered in Southbridge, Massachusetts, receives and administers federal grants as the prime recipient for airport infrastructure, community development, and emergency management projects, and passes through federal education and nutrition funding to local schools as a sub-recipient. The Town operates as a grant recipient — not a contract prime or subcontractor — with 26 percent of awards held as direct prime grants and 74 percent routed through state intermediaries (primarily the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) as pass-through sub-awards.

The Town's grant footprint centers on three capability domains: airport infrastructure development, local economic development, and school nutrition and education support. Representative prime grant work includes a $637,800 Airport Improvement Program (CFDA 20.106) award from the Federal Aviation Administration on July 23, 2025, to construct a 9,500 square foot sponsor-owned hangar at Southbridge Municipal Airport (completion targeted July 22, 2029); a companion $144,209.47 FAA Airport Infrastructure Grant (CFDA 20.117) on April 8, 2026, for the same hangar project (completion April 7, 2030); a $6,654,600.67 FAA Airport Improvement Program grant on August 19, 2021, for runway and taxiway reconstruction and beacon installation at the airport (completion August 18, 2025); a $6.7 million Economic Development Administration (EDA) Project Grant on June 7, 2022, for final design and construction of the Quinebaug Valley Rail Trail, a multi-use pedestrian and bicycle path through downtown Southbridge; and a $212,101 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (CFDA 97.044) from FEMA on August 2, 2021, for firefighter protective equipment upgrades. In the sub-award role, the Town receives pass-through funding from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for school lunch programs, child nutrition services, special education (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), teacher quality improvement, English learner support, and community learning centers — dozens of education-and-nutrition sub-awards dated 2023 forward. A sub-award from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources supports insulation and ventilation work at the Southbridge Police Station.

Customer concentration is heavily weighted to nutrition and education pass-through funding. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service accounts for 30 awards (42% of the total count), the Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education accounts for 12 awards (17%), and the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (New England Region and headquarters combined) accounts for 14 awards (20%). These three agencies represent 87 percent of award count. The split between education/nutrition awards and airport/economic-development infrastructure awards creates two distinct customer streams: numerous small-dollar annual pass-through sub-awards from Massachusetts education agencies, and larger multi-year infrastructure grants from federal modal agencies (FAA, EDA, FEMA).

Recent activity surged in 2024 with 48 awards, then dropped to 3 awards in 2025 and 1 award (the April 8, 2026 hangar grant) in 2026. Only one award carries an ultimate completion date within the next twenty-four months, limiting near-term recompete exposure. The Town holds a named subsidiary, the Town of Southbridge Police Department, a municipal entity that appears in the corporate structure but does not carry separate awards. Federal grants flowing through Southbridge are administered under standard FAA, USDA, EDA, FEMA, and Department of Education compliance frameworks — typical municipal grant administration with three-year post-completion record-retention requirements and milestone reporting obligations.